WLWES 1

“Aunty, should I take this to town and sell it?”

“Yeah, that’s right! If you sell it all, I’ll give you a silver coin.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“It’s a long way to town. Normally, my husband would go, but he can’t right now because of his back. So, I really appreciate you helping me out.”

“Got it! I’ll do my best and sell everything.”

“Be careful on your way.”

“Will do!”

Rio waved his hand enthusiastically and jumped on his horse. Behind him was a small cart filled with various vegetables. He had been hired by a woman who grew and sold vegetables with her husband for a living. As he wandered around the village, a woman called out to him, “If you help me with my work, I will pay you.” He immediately jumped at the opportunity. It was a blessing in disguise. He was about to run out of money and laughed as he reached into his almost empty pants pocket.

Rio traveled around looking for work wherever he could to earn money for a living. He had left home two years ago after his mother fell ill and passed away. Since he could remember, he had lived alone with his mother in a small house in a tiny village deep in the forest. The village has several small houses and a few villagers. However, during the last three years that he lived there, the number of villagers decreased. Despite this, Rio never felt lonely because his mother was always there.

She could be strict when teaching him certain things, but otherwise, she was a cheerful, kind, and fun person. It was only after he set out on his journey that he realized how beautiful she was. Before leaving the village, he had only known the villagers, so he never considered their appearances. However, after seeing many people in the outside world, he came to understand that not only his mother but all the villagers had strikingly well-defined and beautiful features. Naturally, Rio resembles his mother and has a beautiful face. It might sound like bragging, but women often approached him. Sometimes, men of higher-ranking stature also did.

He didn’t mind the attention. In fact, he used the affection of others to find work. After all, he needed work to earn money, or he wouldn’t be able to survive. Even though he relied on others’ affection to find work, he never sold his body. Instead, he sought introductions to jobs he was capable of doing, such as carrying loads, carpentry, and bodyguard work.

Last time, he had been assigned to escort a rich man’s daughter. The daughter developed feelings for him, which became troublesome, but he earned 20 silver coins for five days of work. With those coins, he could travel comfortably for two months. However, as the money ran low, he wandered around the village, wondering if there was any work for him in this rural area. This time, he felt lucky when the old lady called out to him.

These sorts of things happened to Rio a lot. Whenever he was in trouble, someone came to help. His mother used to say, “You are loved by God.” However, he did not believe this because God had not cured his mother’s illness, leaving him feeling abandoned. The reason he was able to avoid trouble is likely to have something to do with where he came from.

He was deep in thought when his horse suddenly stopped. They were still deep in the forest, more than halfway to town. Even though Rio was normally optimistic, he started to feel a wave of unease at the unexpected pause.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Didn’t you eat enough before we left? You drank water, too, right? Hurry up and keep moving…”

Suddenly, Rio heard the sound of a horse that was not his own, which made him look up. It was hard to tell, but by peering through the trees, he saw a knight a few dozen meters away, struggling to calm a horse that was shaking its head violently. He let out a sympathetic sigh.

“That looks rough… But it’s none of my business.”

He gripped the reins, preparing to take a large detour.

Rio hated knights. To him, they were killers, their swords instruments of death, and their hands stained with blood. Their arrogance towards those of lower status infuriated him. It made his blood boil.

Rio planned to take a wide turn to slip past the knight unnoticed, but the sight of the distressed horse tugged at his conscience. Before he realized it, he had stopped, now facing the knight. The knight glared sharply at him. It was terrifying. The knight’s face was intimidating, with cold, terrifying violet eyes. He was massive, so tall that Rio had to tilt his head just to see his face. His neck ached from the strain, and he immediately regretted getting involved. But the horse’s distress bothered him too much, and before he could stop himself, he spoke.

“So, umm, the horse, is he hungry? Are you feeding him?”

“…I haven’t given him anything since yesterday morning.”

“Huh? Then how about water?”

“Just a little at night.”

Rio let out a long sigh and grabbed a sack from his cart. Pulling out a carrot, he approached the distressed horse and gently stroked its neck.

“There, there. You’re just angry because you’re hungry, right? Here, eat this. I’ve got plenty of other vegetables, so feel free to eat as much as you want.”

The moment Rio touched the horse’s neck, it suddenly stopped shaking its head and calmed down. The horse eagerly began munching on the carrot in his hand.

“Oh, you’ve got a good appetite. Go on, eat whatever you like.”

He turned the sack upside down and dumped the vegetables onto the ground in front of the horse. The horse looked at him and neighed softly before eagerly devouring one vegetable after another.

Rio watched with a satisfied smile, but then a deep voice suddenly said, “Sorry,” startling him so much that he jumped in surprise.

“Whoa!… You scared me. Don’t just start talking out of nowhere!”

The knight’s cheek twitched slightly. Rio tensed as he expected to be scolded. Instead, the knight, still wearing his scary expression, spoke quietly.

“I didn’t mean to startle you… You helped me, after all. I was in a hurry and didn’t pay enough attention to my horse.”

“If it’s important to you, you should take better care of it.”

“Why… why do you think he is important to me?”

“Huh? Well, its coat is beautiful. It wouldn’t look this good if it weren’t well-groomed and properly taken care of.”

“I see… By the way, where are you headed?”

This time, Rio’s cheek twitched. Did this guy seriously just call me “you” so casually? I hate knights for this exact reason.

“My name is Rio. It’s not ‘you’.”

“…My bad. My name is Gideon. So where are you headed, Rio?”

“I’m on my way to town to sell vegetables. But I’ve already given away half of them… Well, whatever. I guess I’ll just work for free this time.”

“I’ll buy them.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll buy the rest of your vegetables. How much?”

“Wait.. What? Really? Thank you so much!”

A bright smile spread across Rio’s face as he offered his thanks. He knew that, once again, his charm had won people over, which he took pride in.

But the knight, Gideon, furrowed his brows deeply and stared at him as if he were looking at something filthy.

Annoying. He hates dealing with people of lower status, huh? Rio thought.

Rio quickly unloaded the remaining sacks, eager to leave as soon as possible. The knight extended his hand to him and said, “Here is your payment. You really helped me out.”

“You’re welcome.”

Without making eye contact, Rio swiftly took the coins. He mounted his horse and began heading back the way he came. He was happy the horse had recovered, but talking to the knight had not been worth it. It had been such a long time since someone had looked at him like that. No, back then, it was more complicated, that look had been filled with deeper emotions.

“Pull yourself together. Don’t think about weird things! Anyway, I’m glad I sold everything before reaching town,” he muttered to himself.

He shook his head and glanced at the coins in his hand.

“Huh?!” he gasped.

There were five silver coins! Even if he had sold all the vegetables in town, they would have only gone for about two silver coins. The old lady had promised him half the earnings, and he had been pleased with that, but this was double! Gideon must be some kind of high-ranking knight. Judging from his age, he could possibly be a unit commander. But if he was a high-ranking knight, why was he traveling alone?

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I won’t be seeing him again anyway.”

Rio suddenly recalled Gideon’s intimidating face, his sharp features accentuated by the dark circles under his eyes. Despite his beauty, there was something haunting about his appearance. He wondered if the Wolf Lord might have a face like that too.

The Wolf Lord is a noble who rules over a remote region far from the royal capital. He earned the name “The Wolf” due to his sharp, piercing eyes that intimidate anyone who dares approach him. In fact, the knights and servants from his castle, who occasionally visit the town for shopping, often gossip about his strict and terrifying nature.

“Hearing how scary he is only makes me want to meet him even more. If I remember correctly, he lives in the neighboring territory. There’s a chance we might run into each other… or I should just head straight to the land where the Wolf Lord lives.”

With a new destination in mind, Rio felt a surge of excitement. Since his cart was lighter now, the horse picked up speed.

The old woman, who had expected him to return in the evening, was surprised when he arrived while the sun was still high in the sky.

“Oh my, you’re back already?” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, I ended up selling everything on the way to town. Is that okay?” he asked.

“Of course! If you sold everything, that’s great. Thank you, my dear,” she replied.

“Hehe, well here, this is the earnings,” I said, pulling out the five silver coins from my pocket.

The old woman was even more surprised than before. “What?! This much? That’s amazing! Then, here’s your share.”

She took two silver coins from his hand, but he quickly tried to give her the rest of the coins.

“Wait, wait! The original deal was for me to get just one silver coin, so you should take the other four.”

“What are you talking about? The vegetables were only worth two silver coins in total. I promised to give you half, so even taking two feels unfair. I should be the one asking you if it is really okay for me to take two silver coins?” she said.

“Of course! At least take one more,” he insisted.

“No, thank you. The rest is yours. If you’re going to keep traveling, you’ll need as much money as you can get. You really helped me out, so thank you,” she replied earnestly.

No matter what, the old woman refused to take more than two silver coins. Rio had no choice but to take the remaining three silver coins. After saying goodbye, he left the village and started walking towards town.